Hello I have been admitted to Baylor and I am doing the housing application. (I am male) I am interested in coed dorms and was looking at Brooks residential college and Penland hall. I heard it might be bad to have a 2 year contract, but also that the brooks dorms were better. Which one is the better dorm? Any other good dorms? I would prefer to stay away from community bathrooms.
Here is a FB thread from different Students answering questions from Admitted class of 2021. -
Jan. 2017:
-i live in Penland and it’s great! i’m not sure what it’s like from a guy’s perspective but every guy i’ve seen seems to like it! you don’t have to go outside to get to the dining hall which is nice, everything is renovated and new. the lobby has two TVs for watching games and there’s a ping pong and a pool table.
- i'm not sure what dorms will be open next year, but i think Martin will be open and co-ed but i can't tell you what it'll be like there. Kokernot is the all guys dorm and it's not bad, but it's definitely not as nice as penland!
- I live in Kokernot(all guys this year). Honestly I have a love/hate relationship with it. The drawers don't always close and it is very old and definitely needs a remodel. Rooms are small. We have such a close knit group of guys, being that it is smaller we all kinda came together and got to know each other.
Penland: very nice and up to date, won’t stay that way long. People tend to go a bit crazy and have heard lots of complaints. Rooms are nice and there is a pretty descent dining hall right downstairs. It is in a good location, close to everything.
Earle and Teal are super nice. People tend to get together to work on homework or play games in the lobby. Much calmer residence halls.
North and South Russell seem to be some of the better residence halls on campus. Pretty nice rooms and chill people. I am pretty sure South Russell is an Education LLC. But they should accept other majors as well!
- Ok, so there are three kinds of residence halls - it depends on what you're looking for. First-Year experiences are the most chill - you're just living there for a year until you can get an apartment/house. Penland, Kokernot, Martin, and Collins fall under that category. There is some hall community, but not as much as other places. Living-Learning Centers are a bit more involved and center around some aspect of your life. North Russell is Baylor and Beyond (thinking globally), South Russell is education, Earle is pre-med, etc. Finally, Residential Colleges are the most involved. They really try to create a community and require you to stay two years to build it. The HRC is Honors, Teal is Engineering and Computer Science, and Brooks isn't really based on an area.
-I have a friend in North Russel and said it is amazing! They have a lot of great group activities and it has a very welcoming homey feel. Definitely one of the better residence halls on campus
Hope this helps.
My son lives in Earle (Science & Health LLC). Teal is its twin dorm for the Engineering / Nursing students. These two dorms are newer and cleaner and the rooms are larger (comparable to the SMU dorms with Pottery-Barn like furniture, wood floors and high ceilings). Also the cafeteria is new. These dorms are close to the Business building (Foster) and the Baylor Sciences Building (BSB). Let me know if anyone has any questions about Earle / Teal. Given the choice between Brooks and Penland, I’d suggest Penland since it was remodeled in 2016. Brooks did not appeal to my son - it’s structured like a Harry Potter dorm with community spaces and a big common dining hall but the Brooks dorm rooms are more private than Penland (and similar to Earle). I’d think twice and make sure Brooks matches your style.